DUIs Without a License in Prince William County 

DUIs without a license in Prince William County can be serious. The court will want to know why someone was driving without a license when they are pulled over for a DUI. Driving without a license in the state of Virginia is a less serious offense than driving on a suspended or driving on a revoked license, especially if someone simply left their license at home.

If a person does not have a license, they had a legitimate reason for not having one at the time, and it was not suspended, then chances are the person only gets a fine for that. It will not significantly impact the DUI case. If the person did not have a license at the time because the person never had a license, and they had a lot of driving offenses on their record even though they have never had a license, that will negatively affect the DUI case. The person is probably going to get active jail time. Talk to a professional Prince William County DUI lawyer for more information.

DUI Without License Charge

DUIs without a license in Prince William County is a misdemeanor charge that is considered a traffic charge, so it is not a separate charge from the DUI. It is not an aggravating factor like it is in some states. There is no set law in Virginia that states that if a person drives without a license, it will aggravate the DUI.

Aggravating DUI Charge

Charges are aggravating only if a person has a history of driving charges in addition to a DUI without a license in Prince William County. It will likely give the person active jail time because the judge will believe that they should not be allowed to drive. But if it is a situation where the person is just somebody who, for whatever reason, did not have a license at that moment in time, that is not necessarily something that would be particularly bad for the person. It would not make the DUI worse.

Driving on a Suspended Licenses vs. Unlicensed Driver

Driving on a suspended license is much, much more serious. When someone drives on a suspended license, they are ignoring a government mandated sentence. A person will likely know that they were on a suspended license, so it will make the DUI worse.

The sentence for a suspended license for a DUI case is much worse than a DUI without a license in Prince William County. A judge is going to sentence more harshly for a suspended license because a person did not acknowledge a sentence given to them. Partially, prosecutors are going to sentence more harshly. They are going to want two convictions. There will be little chance of dropping the charges as well. Then, the period of suspension for their license will also renew, so a person is going to get even more time tacked on to their lack of license. A Prince William County DUI attorney can provide further legal assistance.